Deborah BC SURVIVOR's blog: "Hopeless Romantic"

Surprise them with a hug from behind while they are busy doing something Kiss them when they are in the middle of a sentence Send them text messages throughout the day Call them up on the phone and say nothing but I Love you Write I Love You on a piece of paper and put it in their pants pocket while they are taking a shower Go to a museum together Take a long drive in the country Put a flower on your their pillow Send flowers to them at work. Make them feel special in front of others Make up a secret code and page them with it all day Call in to work sick on the same day Buy a gift for them every day for a week Hold hands Take a long bath with lots of bubbles Leave a trail of rose petals from the door to your bedroom for them to follow Enjoy Champaign and strawberries together Buy them some nice cologne/perfume Start/end every day with a kiss Rent a paddleboat Run your fingers through their hair and speak softly to them while they fall asleep Dedicate songs on the radio them them Grab a lunch to go and sit on the grass at the beach/bay/lake Light candles all around the house and have a little romantic music going for them when they get home

Take a moment and thank you sweetie for some romantic gesture you really appreciated. Do not couch it as a "you used to do nice things but don't anymore". Instead, just thanks them like "It was so much fun when ... ". This will do two things. First, it will let you both share the moment again. Second, it encourages your sweetie to do romantic things by showing that you appreciate them long after the fact. HAVE a ROMANTIC DAY Hopeless Romantic

Have you ever met someone who dominated every conversation? Do you know a person who has the gift of being able to talk for extended periods of time without taking a breath? How do you feel after trying to hold a conversation with a person who keeps changing the subject? What about one who interrupts other people's conversations? It can be a very frustrating experience trying to talk to a person who doesn't listen and won't allow other people to converse without interjecting. Surprisingly, most of us invite such a one into our home everyday. Who is it? It is the television of course. The television talks non-stop all day long, is great at capturing one's attention and refuses to listen to anything anyone says to it. Many times friends and I will be talking and one of us will be distracted by the television. At that point a couple of things happen. If it was the person speaking, they will lose their train of thought and become frustrated. If the listener is distracted, the speaker feels bad that watching the television is more important than listening to your sweetie. Today's tip is to NOT have the TV on so much. Turn it off, especially when your sweetheart is trying to speak with you, and you will enjoy the conversation much more. Don't make a big show of turning off the television because then your sweetie might feel like they are intruding. Even better, leave it off when you are expecting your sweetheart so you can give them your undivided attention. The kids are much more cooperative when the TV goes off. Its almost like a switch is thrown in their brains. Its an amazing thing to watch. Communication is the life blood of a relationship. Anything that hampers the flow of communication dampens the relationship.

Support our Troops Whether you support the war in Iraq or not, the soldiers serving deserve our support. Most of us have a neighbor, friend or relative serving overseas. Why not spend some time together doing something for those soldiers.? See Any Soldier for ideas of what to send. They also can help if you want to send a package but don't know any soldiers. http://www.anysoldier.us/WhatToSend.html

Thou shalt flirt ferociously each day with thy spouse that thy marriage shall be blessed with strength, joy and longevity. In everyday life its important to take a moment to keep the romance kindled. Have a ROMANTIC day :) Peace & LOVE Hopeless Romantic

Kindness, as Mother Teresa so beautifully said, is the only language that we all understand. We’ve all heard the saying, “What goes around comes around,” and the following true story is a wonderful reminder of how simple acts of kindness can come back to us when we least expect it. His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. “I want to repay you,” said the nobleman. “You saved my son’s life.” “No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,” the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family home. “Is that your son?” the nobleman asked. “Yes,” the farmer replied proudly. “I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.” And that he did. Farmer Fleming’s son attended the very best schools and, in time, graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog, was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son’s name? Sir Winston Churchill. I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now...for I shall not pass this way again. --William Penn